Birgit Wolz - E-Motion Picture Magic-A Movie Lover\'s Guide to Healing and Transformation

Exercise 5: Other Influences

Does this come close to your experiences? If so,

write about how these thoughts relate to your own

history and struggle with low self-esteem.

Step 2: Letting Go of Negative Views

If you had something to write in at least one of the previous

exercises, it is very likely that your low self-esteem is based on

one or several of the unhealthy thought patterns listed below. I

suggest you explore, with the support of movies, how some of

them might affect you.

List of Unhealthy Thought Patterns:

1. Self-blame: You blame yourself for something for
   which you are not responsible.


2. Negative Self-image: You underestimate your
   capacities.


3. “Victim” perspective: You blame other people or
   circumstances for almost everything that happens
   to you.


4. “Should” perspective: You feel frequently
   obligated to do or say things that you resist deep
   inside.


5. Over-all negative perspective: You perceive your
   life as if “the glass were half empty” instead of
   “half full.”


6. Black-and-white thinking: You perceive most
   experiences as either right or wrong, good or bad.


7. Overgeneralization: You perceive one negative
   experience as a never-ending predicament.

To clarify how movies can be used to build self-esteem,

let’s use the example of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

where the main character Toula goes through a transformation

of her self-image and builds her self-esteem.

“Most bad feelings come

from illogical thoughts...

When you put the lie to

these distorted thoughts,

you can change the way

you feel.”

David Burns

102 E-Motion Picture Magic